There are a number of pigmented and/or fluorescent molecules which have been isolated and characterised from natural sources. Examples include apoaequorin, a single polypeptide chain isolated from the luminous jellyfish Aequarea victoria, green fluorescent protein (GFP) and renilla luciferase isolated from the Renilla (also called sea pansies) which belong to a class of coelenterates known as anthozoans.
The present applicant has pied pigment protein from various coral tissues (PPCT) and cloned genes encoding PPCT which have unique and useful properties.